


Can you hear us ?

by Hawkeye_girl



Category: Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Action, Action/Adventure, Angst, Avengers Feels, Awesome Clint Barton, Awesome Natasha Romanov, Blood, Blood Loss, Bruce Banner Feels, Bruce Banner Has Issues, Bruce Banner Needs a Hug, Clint Barton Feels, Clint Barton Is a Good Bro, Clint Barton Needs a Hug, Coma, F/M, Fights, Friendship, Guilt, Heavy Angst, Hurt Clint Barton, Hurt Steve Rogers, Hurt Thor (Marvel), Hurt Tony Stark, Love, Natasha Romanov Feels, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Protective Avengers, Protective Bruce Banner, Protective Clint Barton, Protective Natasha Romanov, Protective Thor (Marvel), Protective Tony Stark, Sacrifice, Self-Sacrifice, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Survivor Guilt, Team Feels, Team as Family, The Avengers Need a Hug, Thor (Marvel) Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2020-03-05 14:30:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18830563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hawkeye_girl/pseuds/Hawkeye_girl
Summary: When Steve gets hurt so badly during a mission that he falls into coma.The Avengers visit him in the hospital to talk to him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> NEW STORY !  
> Don't forget to leave a kudo and a comment if you like this first chapter

“- Tony ! Watch out !”

The inventor turned his head just in time to see Steve jumping in front of him. The spear the alien was throwing went straight through the soldier’s chest, instead of Tony’s. Surprised by the outcome of the events, the creature let its guard down. In a blast, Iron Man took it down and quickly kneeled next to his friend, not caring anymore about the ongoing battle around them. The rest of the team could handle it.

“- Cap ? You hear me ? Shit… Dammit, Steve, you better not die that stupidly !”

“- Tony ? Everything alright ?”, asked Natasha through the intercom.

“- Steve got hurt ! Call 911 !”, violently ordered Stark, who pressed both of his hands on Roger’s wound, trying to stop the blood loss.

The playboy vaguely heard someone whispering “shit” but couldn't tell who. Right now, his entire focus was on his friend, whose pulse, according to FRIDAY was extremely low. The soldier was still breathing, his chest lifting slightly every few seconds, but his eyes were empt of any form of life.

“- Come on, Steve, don’t do that to me… Please…”

His voice broke down in a sob. He didn’t notice it, but all around him, his friends were still fighting those aliens who had started attacking New-York earlier in the afternoon. It was just a normal day for the Avengers. But Steve had somehow lost his shield during a fight against one of the aliens and when he had seen that spear threatening Tony, he hadn’t hesitated. He had thrown his whole body in front of his friend, in order to save his life.

“- The ambulance says they can’t get any closer, there are destroyed cars blocking the way !”, warned Natasha.

“- We have to move him…”, declared Tony through gritted teeth.

This was going to be bad. Moving Steve would probably hurt him and make him lose a lot more blood… But they didn’t have any other choice. 

“- Thor, I need a hand !”, demanded Stark. “I can’t lift our super soldier on my own.”

With the help of the god of thunder, the playboy grabbed his injured friend and brought him to the medics. Steve whimpered slightly as he was put on a stretcher and started coughing blood.

“- We have an injured lung !”, declared one of the doctors, who ripped open Steve’s jacket to get a better look at the wound.

Tony was standing next to the ambulance, staring blankly at the injury, unable to believe what he was seeing. This wasn’t happening. It was impossible. Steve Rogers couldn’t be the man laying on that stretcher, stuck between life and death. It was impossible.

“- Tony ? TONY ?”

Stark broke out of his trance. Someone was calling for him.

“- What ?”

“- We need you back here ! These aliens have hostages in the bank !”

The genius shook his head. He had to get back on the battlefield. People’s safety was at risk. He had to do his job as an Avenger. But he couldn’t erase the picture of Steve injured off his mind. He cast one last look at the ambulance that was starting to get away, to go to the hospital, and flew back to where the rest of his team was. Thor had already returned the fight and was throwing his hammer through several aliens at a time.  
Tony got to the bank, where people were held captive. The door was blocked by a big block of concrete that had fallen from a building nearby. Spotting a window, the playboy flew through it. There were only three aliens guarding the prisoners. They immediately started firing at Iron Man, who simply blasted them in a total of two seconds.

“- Thor, you think you and Hulk can move the rock in front of the building ?”

“- I most certainly can !”, assured the god.

A quarter of an hour later, the captive were freed. Taking down the rest of the aliens only took the Avengers lees than an hour.

“- We need to go to the hospital”, stated Bruce, as soon as he came back. “We need to check on Steve.”

“- I’ll fly the Quinjet”, offered Clint. “Nat, Bruce, you’re coming with me ?”

The two Avengers nodded before heading towards the vehicle. Stark and Thor immediately took off, one with his hammer, and the other one with his armor.

 

Tony and Thor arrived firsts. They rushed into the building, looking for a nurse who could give the some informations.

“- Steve Rogers ? He is in room 39.”

Tony started running. It was his fault if Steve was there. He should have been more careful. He was the one who was supposed to be injured, not Steve !  
The playboy was getting closer and closer to the room where the soldier was when he bumped into a doctor.

“- Mister Stark”, started the man. “Maybe you should sit down. We need to talk…”

Tony felt his heart stopping. Steve was dead. He had killed him. The inventor fell in a chair in the alley. Meanwhile, the rest of the Avengers arrived, running. When they saw the look on Tony’s face, they all stopped. Natasha covered her mouth while Clint whispered:

“- No… No, not that !”

Seeing the worried looks on their faces, the doctor spoke:

“- Mister Rogers is in a stabilized state for now.”

Tony rose his head. Stabilized ?

“- Wait, you mean… You mean… He is alive ?”

“- I mean he is in a deep coma.”, answered the man.

After a pause, he took a quick breath before announcing:

“- We don’t know if he is ever going to wake up again…”

The Avengers looked like they had just been punched in the guts. Tony and Clint had their mouth wide open while tears were filling Natasha’s eyes. Suddenly, Thor punched the wall, creating a big hole in it.

“- Can we… Can we see him ?”, asked a baffled Bruce.

“- I’m afraid you’ll have to take turns. He needs to rest.”, answered the doctor, sadly.

Tony took a few deep breaths. His heart was beating furiously, like it wanted to get out of his chest.

“- I’ll take the first watch.”, he announced.

The team nodded, before leaving the hospital, leaving the inventor behind. Gathering all of his courage, Tony entered the room where his friend was.


	2. Chapter 2

It looked like Steve was sleeping. His face was peaceful, his eyes closed, his arm resting on his sides. Silently, as if he was afraid of waking him up, Tony grabbed a chair nearby and sat next to the super soldier. For a whole minute he didn’t speak. The inventor was staring at his friend, waiting for him to wake up, grab his shield and get back on the battlefield. But Steve wasn’t waking up. Shaking his head, Stark ran a hand through his hair before speaking up:

“- I’ve heard stories about people who were in a coma but could still hear everything that was going on around them… So, I hope you can hear me.”

The playboy’s voice broke. Taking a deep breath, Tony cleared his throat and, without looking at the captain, kept going:

“- It should have been me. I’m sorry. I should be the one laying here. No one would miss me anyway…”

Sighing, Stark scratched his head. Maybe Steve couldn’t hear him. But he needed to speak. The weight on his chest was too heavy. He gulped and opened his mouth to speak again but nothing came out. Tony felt tears coming in his eyes and a few seconds later, a sob made its way out of his throat.

“- Look at that, the genius playboy philanthropist billionaire is crying…”, declared Stark through his tears. “You must think I’m weak. But maybe you already thought that… I mean, what am I without my armor, honestly ? Just an asshole with a lot of money… The world needs Captain America, not me… Let’s face the truth.”

Tony took a few minutes to compose himself. Raising his head, he looked again at his friend. Slowly, he started to feel his sadness being replaced by another feeling. Anger.

“- You couldn’t just let me die, right ? Because you are Captain America, aren’t you ? You are the one who sacrifices himself ? Well, you should have let me die. Because I’m not worth your life ! I’M NOT !”, declared Tony, getting up.

Breathing heavily, the inventor realized he had been yelling the last part when he noticed the worried look of the nurse who had come running to see if everything was alright.

“- Can I… Can I help you, sir ?”

“- No, I’m sorry, I just…Everything is alright. I’m sorry for the disturbance.”

The nurse nodded, still looking a bit worried, before leaving the room. Tony sat back in his chair and hold his head between his hands. This wasn’t fair. This wasn’t fair…

“- I’m sorry, Steve. I’m so so sorry…”

The billionaire abruptly got up and turned around. Before passing the door, he whispered:

“- Goodbye, Steve. See you soon.”

 

“ It’s not your fault !”

Steve wanted to scream, yell, shout. He wanted to grab Tony’s arm, maybe take him into his arms, and tell him everything was going to be okay.  
But he couldn’t. He was completely paralyzed and even his mouth wouldn’t comply. Only his ears seemed to be working correctly. All he could do was listening to his friend beating himself up for not being dead.

“- No one would miss me anyway…”

“I would !”, thought Steve. “The whole team would.”

God, why Tony couldn’t understand that he mattered ? That he belonged with the Avengers ? Steve knew that if he had been the one threatened by that spear, the genius wouldn’t have hesitated and would have thrown himself in front of the soldier to save his life. And he would have probably died without the serum Steve had flowing in his veins.

“- I’m not worth your life. I’M NOT !”

This broke the captain’s heart. Tony really thought his own life wasn’t worth anything. Not being able to talk back was infuriating ! Jumping in front of Stark had been Steve’s decision and the inventor shouldn’t feel bad about this !

“- I’m sorry, Steve… I’m so so sorry…”

“I know and you shouldn’t be”

“- Goodbye, Steve. See you soon.”

“NO ! DON’T LEAVE ME !”

But Tony couldn’t hear his friend. The room got filled with a heavy silence. Steve was alone.

 

“- What’s going to happen, now ?”, asked Clint.

They were all back at the Avengers tower, in the living room. Thor was pacing, unable to contain his worry. Natasha was leaning against a wall, her arms crossed, a worried look on her face. Bruce was standing, staring at the chair where Steve was sitting, less than two hours ago, before they got called for the aliens attack. He couldn’t believe it. Hulk had seen the whole thing but Banner had fully integrated the news when he had come back and Steve wasn’t with them anymore. Clint was sitting in another chair, playing with one of his knifes. He had seen many people dying during his missions. Good people. His colleagues. But this was different. This was a member of his team. A member of his family. What was he going to tell Laura ? What was he going to tell the kids ? That uncle Steve was hurt and would probably never come back home ?

“- We keep fighting.”, answered Natasha. “We wait for him to come back.”

“- And what if he doesn’t ?”, quietly said Bruce, raising his head.

“- We must keep hope, my friend.”, assured Thor, putting a hand on the doctor’s shoulder. “Hope is all we have now…”

“- Well, hope is not going to bring Steve back.”, abruptly declared Banner before leaving the room.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter !  
> Don't forget to leave a kudo and a comment if you liked it ^^  
> Hawkeye_girl

Natasha entered the room, quietly, as if she didn’t want to wake Steve up. The spy stopped right in front of the Captain’s bed, where he was still laying, his chest lifting and lowering every few seconds.

“- You’re an idiot, you know that ?”, asked the woman, with a strangled voice.

No answer came.

“- You had to sacrifice yourself, right ? You had to ?”

Still no answer.  
Realizing tears were flowing on her cheeks, the russian spy angrily wiped them away before turning her attention back to her friend.

“- The team is desperate. Tony hasn’t slept for the whole night. I’m not sure any of us slept a lot more since yesterday. Since you got…”

Natasha stopped talking. This was useless, Steve probably couldn’t hear her anyway. Clearing her throat, she sat on the chair next to the bed.

“- Can you hear us, Steve ?”, she whispered, leaning forward.

The SHIELD agent waited for a few seconds but Rogers didn’t move. His eyes were still close and his face emotionless. Romanov tiredly rubbed her eyes before talking again:

“- We need you. The team is not the same without you. You are our captain, and things could get a bit messy without your strategic approach of fighting. But you are also our friend and we miss you…”

Taking a deep breath, Natasha got up and asked:

“- Please, come back soon, Steve…”

And with one last look at her friend and captain, she got out of the room.

 

Steve Rogers was alone again, for the second time in two days. Tony’s and Nat’s visits had been an occasion to cling to the outside world but now they were gone… And the super soldier was probably going to have to wait until tomorrow to see someone from the team.  
The captain felt a lump in his throat as he realized that by taking this decision, he had hurt his whole team. According to Natasha, nobody had been sleeping last night. And Tony was taking all the blame for what was happening. Well, honestly, that wasn’t really surprising, coming from the inventor… But thinking of this again, if the soldier could, he would do it again. He would put his life at risk if it could save Tony’s. Stark would have died if Steve hadn’t jumped in front of him. That helped the Captain relaxing a little.

 

“- Sir, there is a terrorist attack on the fifth avenue.”

JARVIS’ voice echoed on the highest floor of the Avengers tower. All of the member of the team were looking at each other, without speaking. Natasha had just come back from the hospital and they already needed to leave and fight a new threat. Without their leader.

“- What do we do ?”, nervously asked Banner, pulling on the left-sleeve of his shirt.

Tony cast a look at the people around him. They were all expectantly staring at him, waiting for the inventor to take the lead.

“- The army can’t handle it ?”, asked Clint to the AI.

“- Negative, mister Barton. “There is another attack on the other side of the city keeping the army busy. Both of the attacks appear to be coming from the same group: HYDRA. My software has recognized a few members of the attack. They are members of HYDRA.”

“- Tony ?”, asked Natasha. “What do we do ?”

The playboy turned around and noticed how everyone was waiting for his orders.

“- I… I’m not Cap…”, he stuttered. “I’m not your leader…”

“- The Captain is not amongst us at that moment, man of iron”, explained Thor. “It seems logical that you take charge of the team during the absence of our comrade.”

“- But… I mean… Wait, who said I should be in charge ?”, abruptly asked Tony.

“- Steve would have wanted this...”

“- How do you know Steve would have wanted this, uh ?! I’m the man who put him in the hospital ! I’m the reason he is not here with us !”, yelled the distraught man, staring at his friends.

Stark couldn’t believe it. How could they be okay with the fact that Steve was in the hospital and not him ? They should be hating him by now…

“- He trusts you. He always has”, replied Bruce. “And we all do.”

The genius rose his head to look at hi friend. The doctor had a sincere look on his face. He wasn’t lying. He genuinely trusted Tony. The inventor ran a hand through his hair before declaring:

“- Okay then. Everyone, suit up and let’s meet on the Quinjet in fifteen minutes !”

Nobody spoke up. In fact, everyone left the room without arguing and started getting ready for the incoming battle.  
Fifteen minutes later, everybody was ready.  
Tony looked around him. He could tell that the whole team was thinking about Steve right now. They all seemed lost in their thoughts as they were mechanically buckling up.   
A few minutes later and the Quinjet was flying towards the enemy. Tony closed his eyes, trying to think of how Steve would have handled this situation. Taking a deep breath, he started:

“- As soon as we get there, we need to establish a perimeter. We will evacuate every civilian inside of that area. Nat and Clint, you will handle this, and when it’s done, you fight. Thor and I, we stop the HYDRA agents from getting out of the perimeter. Banner, we will need the Hulk to clear this area from these agents. Normally I would not ask for a code green, but there are too many agents for the four of us... We need the Hulk…”

Banner sighed with a resigned smile.

“- Since when do I have a choice anyway…?”

Patting his friend on the shoulder, Tony announced:

“- We will land soon. Get ready.”


End file.
